Entertainment

The Suicide Squad trailer reveals roles for John Cena, Idris Elba, and more

We're finally getting our first official look at James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad.' Here's what we learned.

by Jake Kleinman

The Suicide Squad might be the most mysterious movie in DC's calendar. Is it a sequel or a reboot? Who are all these cast members playing? Now, thanks to DC FanDome, we finally have some answers.

In a stylized teaser video, director James Gunn revealed who the entire cast is playing. Some of the biggest reveals included Flula Borg as Javeline Man, John Cena as Peacemaker, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Peter Capaldi as Thinker, Nathan Fillion as TDK, and Pete Davidson as Blackguard.

Idris Elba plays Bloodsport

DC

Nathan Fillion as TDK

DC

Pete Davidson as Blackguard

DC

John Cena as Peacemaker

DC

Directed by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), The Suicide Squad follows the poorly received David Ayer movie Suicide Squad. Several key actors from the first movie are returning, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. But at the same time, Will Smith and others are gone.

Meanwhile, Gunn's new cast also includes John Cena, Nathan Fillion, Flula Borg, Sean Gunn, Pete Davidson, Taika Waititi, Peter Capaldi, Idris Elba, Steve Agee, and others. That's a big ensemble, and it will be exciting to see how the director wields all that talent before returning to Marvel to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

A behind the scenes teaser video also provided a first glimpse at The Suicide Squad, which you can see below.

James Gunn went through his own saga to get to this point. After pro-Trump social media activists dug up the director's old and questionable tweets (which he had already apologized for), Gunn was fired from Guardians 3 by Disney. He used the opportunity to go to DC and take on The Suicide Squad, all while quietly working behind the scenes to earn back Disney's trust. It worked, and now Gunn is the rare director to be working in the two biggest superhero cinematic universes. Despite the baggage associate with the Suicide Squad franchise, we're excited to see how Gunn's comedic-action talents translate to the DC universe.

DC FanDome has a packed schedule, with panels set for everything from The Batman and the upcoming Flash movie to Zack Snyder's Justice League edit and a timeslot devoted to the DC Universe series Harley Quinn. The event was actually so jam-packed it had to be split into two separate events, with the second coming on September 12 — but most of the big stuff is still happening on Saturday, August 21.

The Suicide Squad will be released on August 21, 2021.

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